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SAML: A fractal of bad design

353 points · 190 comments · aray07

  1. ocdtrekkie · · focus · HN ↗
    Eh, if you don't have SAML support, I can find a product that does. Not a problem. \o/

    (Or to be more clear, it is mostly unacceptable for an enterprise product to have opinionated decisions about what authentication it works with. You either work with what we use or you are not viable as a product for our need. It's kinda simple. I would expect someone whose authentication was OIDC-based to be similarly dismissive if you told them you only would do SAML.)

    1. clhodapp · · focus · HN ↗
      Honestly, it's an addressable market versus development cost question... How many clients will you lose if you support OIDC but not SAML? Does the delta justify carrying a SAML implementation? If so, do it. But the post is still correct that SAML is a fractal of bad design either way. And it's good to say this openly, and to run this calculus each time you are considering a new SAML implementation.
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